Emerald Hearts
by Fauna Greywolf
Summary: Return to Oz with a twist. DorothyScarecrow!
1. Chapter 1

The moon looked down on a quiet Kansas, it's light falling through the window of a particular farmhouse. A girl of 18 slept restlessly, her sheets twining around her body's harsh movements. Sweat formed on her fore head, the other evidence of the nightmares she endured, nightmares that threatened to rip her heart in two. _Everywhere green stone fell to the ground, breaking into even smaller chunks then what were falling. The once magnificent buildings of the Emerald City were being reduced to little more then quarry rubble. The cities proud inhabitants were fleeing the destruction and having no idea what caused it. But the odd thing was no emeralds hit the ground. They all seemed to have vanished into the air. As the last of the city fell, a giant tremor shook the earth, and Dorothy found herself being transported to a new surrounding. _

_Deep beneath the earth, a dark dungeon echoed with the dripping of stale water from stalactites. Veins of silver streaked the walls, not helping the lack of color or warmth. She looked through her dreams eyes, hopping to find some sign as to where she was. When she found it, it did nothing to help. In fact it made matters worse, much worse. Chained to the wall with water dripping on his hat lay her Scarecrow. Wait, her Scarecrow? She hadn't thought like that before. His head rested heavily on his chest having had no reason to acknowledge his prison. She wanted to run to him, to set him free from this terrible place. "Scarecrow!" Slowly the straw filled head raised, painted eyes searching the darkness. Small traces oh hope seemed to leak out as he whispered "Dorothy?" Then he appeared. An even darker shadow that seemed to blend with the rock. His eyes looked straight at her, almost as if she were really there. Turning his lips up in a twisted grin he scoffed, "Hello Dorothy." _

She awoke bolt upright in her bed, screaming. Hot tears had started to roll down her cheeks, courtesy of seeing her friend in chains. "It was only a dream, wasn't it?" Something felt wrong however. Something told her she couldn't ignore this. Glancing out the window she glared at the moon, "I have to get back to Oz!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone sorry this took so long. Hope it was worth the wait.

The last thing he remembered was seeing the floor of his throne room yawn open and dozens of stone like creatures crawling out. They began tearing emeralds off the wall, screeching to each other in their gravely voices. One of them must have snuck up behind him because next thing he knew something was over his eyes and he was being dragged away.

Now here he was, chained to the wall of this leaky dungeon, waiting for his captor's next visit. He'd tried and tried again to get free but the shackles were synched tight around his straw appendages. Sighing in defeat he leaned his head back against the wall. It was then the sounds of voices drifted through the door to his ears.

"…will lure her here. He says when she sees the Emerald city in shambles she will stop it nothing to save her friends. Then when she comes to save him, Nome King will capture her and force her to be his bride. With Dorothy by his side, no one in Oz will dare oppose him."

The Scarecrow's jaw dropped when that last piece of news filtered into his straw head. In the background he could hear the buzzing noise of the nomes voices but for the life of him could not comprehend what they were saying. 'Dorothy, marry the Nome King! She can't marry him! That slimy old fossil doesn't deserve Dorothy. Only I …' His thought process stopped, had he really just thought about marrying Dorothy. "That's crazy. In order for me to want to marry her I'd have to love her."

"Talking to yourself is one of the first signs of insanity. Your brains must be going bad." His eyes snapped to the wall where the Nome King had appeared. A grin was plastered on his face, the same one gazelles see on lions right before they leap.

Something red near the gnome king caught his eye. Upon closer inspection he saw they were the ruby slippers. Panic filled him, spilling over into his voice, "Where did u get those!"

"I found them lying above ground on my mountain. Do you like them?"

"Not really. Personally I don't think women's shoes flatter you."

"Guys made of straw shouldn't throw stones. Especially in your current condition. I do hope you'll forgive my short visit, but I have to prepare for Dorothy's arrival. And the wedding."

Anger boiled up inside him. "You lay one hand on her and I'll tear you limb from ugly limb you female pump wearing fruit!"

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "So it is true, you do love the girl. That will make this marriage all the more enjoyable. And I'll make you watch every second of it."

The kings body began to fade but his voice continued to echo through the dungeon, "and there's nothing you can do about it. Except grow old and moldy down here as you watch the girl you love become mine forever."

Scarecrows head lowered to his chest as the water dripped on his hat. For awhile there was only the small sounds of tumbling stone filling the empty place, then out of the empty air came a voice. "Scarecrow." A familiar presence filled his dungeon, one he had grown accustomed to on his journey from the corn field to the Emerald City.

Slowly the straw filled head raised, painted eyes searching the darkness. Small traces of hope seemed to leak out as he whispered "Dorothy?" Then the Nome King returned, "Hello Dorothy." As quickly as her presence appeared he felt it slip away.

"It's only a matter of time now my friend. Consider this the beginning of your end."


	3. Chapter 3

Dorothy looked out the Sanatorium window as her aunt drove away in the old farm buggy. She only managed a short farewell with the women before Doctor Worley's head nurse, Nurse Wilson dragged her to the upper levels. All the way there she heard the other patient moans echoing throughout the hall. The sounds sent shivers up her spine.

_A few hours earlier in Oz_

Scarecrow had just begun counting the cracks in his cell for the thousandth time when a strange blue mist had floated in from under the door. Thinking this to be some torture of the Nome kings he readied himself for anything. The mist began to take shape and, to the Scarecrow's great surprise, turned into the ghost like form of a very pretty girl. 'Not as pretty as Dorothy though.' She looked to be about 14 with shining blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a flowing blue gown and around her golden head was a crown with the letters OZ on the front.

"Who are you?"

She smiled, "I'm Ozma Princess of Oz." She giggled at the confused look on the Scarecrows face. "Perhaps I should explain. Before the Wizard came to Oz my father was king. But when the wizard came, he gave me to Mombi so I could not endanger his rule. And when the Wizard left the Nome King came to Mombi and told her of his plans. I ran away to the Emerald City to try and warn you but I was too late. When I got there the city was already being trashed and you had long been kidnapped. Being an heir of Oz I have the power to protect the city, and I tried to use it against the Nome King. However I never got the proper training and it backfired, killing me." Her voice saddened, whether it was due to the fact she was dead or the fact she couldn't protect her home, he didn't know.

"So can you get me out of here? Someone very close to me is in trouble."

"Alas my powers in this world are gone. But I will be able to help Dorothy. I wanted to give you this, so you could keep an eye on her throughout the journey." A small mirror appeared in her delicate hand.

"But the Nome king will see it, and take it." Ozma just smiled and turned the mirror over. The back was decorated to blend in perfectly with the dungeons walls. "And it won't break if you drop it either."

Scarecrow took the mirror from her. "But how do I…"

"Just say the name of the person you want to see." Her outline was getting fuzzy and her voice grew softer, "I have to go now. My magic is just about spent. I have one final gift for you and Dorothy. You can do what I never could. I give you the power to protect Oz. But you will only be able to use it when you two are together again. Good luck Scarecrow."

With one last wave, Ozma disappeared from the dungeon and the Land of Oz.

_Back in Kansas_

The earphones of the machine came closer and closer to Dorothy. She didn't like this one bit. She knew the dreams would stop when she got back to Oz and saved the Scarecrow from that dungeon. Closing her eyes she waited for the shock. It never came. Opening her eyes she saw the lights had gone out because of the storm and that she was alone in the room. Suddenly the earphones were removed from her ears. "Who's there?"

A blonde girl pulled her straps off. "We've got to get you out of here." Gripping her hand she pulled her out into the hallway. All the way she quietly explained she was Ozma and came to save her and help her return to Oz. When they were almost out the door Nurse Wilson spotted them.

"Stop!" Of course they didn't listen and ran out the door into the stormy night.

"Scarecrow has been captured by the Nome King and all of Oz is in serious peril. You are our only hope."

They found a brief reprieve in a thorny bush. "I have this gift to give to you, but in order to use it you have to find Scarecrow." Dorothy nodded in understanding. Ozma blew some green dust in her face. She felt it settle on her skin, seeping through it and spreading to her entire body. "Protect Oz Dorothy."

"There they are!" Nurse Wilson was almost on top of them.

"Hurry we have to AHH." DOROTHY SAW Ozma slip over a dip in the bank and fall into the river. The wind and rain blew into her face as she tried to rescue her friend. When she almost had her she saw the nurse coming down the bank after her. She jumped into the river and the current swept her away.

A crate floated by and Dorothy quickly climbed into it. She tried her best to search for Ozma but it was to dark and the rain to thick. Laying down on the bottom of he crate she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When she woke up the next morning the sun shone brightly over head. Her clothes had dried and the weather had turned nicer and a lot warmer. Slowly she pushed herself into a sitting position, scenery slowly coming into focus.

"Land sakes. Where the heck are we?" Turning slightly, Dorothy saw a brown chicken sitting on the upper edge of the crate.

"Billina? What are you doing here?"

"That storm blew me away from the chicken coop and I ended up floating with you."

Dorothy's face lit up in realization. "Hang on Billina. Your talking, that means we're in Oz. I made it! Billina I'm finally back in Oz."

The hen cocked her head to the side. "You mean that place you were always talkin about with the green city and walking, talking Scarecrows?"

"Yes Billina, and it's the Emerald city. But right now we need to get out of here. This is the deadly desert. If we touch it, we'll be turned to sand."

She gulped, glancing warily at the sand. Picking up Billina, Dorothy started to hop from boulder to boulder, headed towards the green grass that meant safety.

_Nome Kings Dungeon._

Scarecrow stared into the mirror in his hand, 'Oh no Dorothy. You should have stayed in Kansas. I can't protect you anymore!' He watched as she and the hen, Billina, picked 2 lunch pales from a lunch pale tree and then began to walk towards the trees making up the forest.

Soon they had arrived at the old farm house. He saw Dorothy look through the window, pointing out the familiar landmarks while Billina just milled around in the grass. With a final glance Dorothy turned away from her house and froze. In front of her was the Yellow Brick Road, but no where near it's former glory. Weeds had grown between the bricks that remind in place while the majority of them were askew, or broken. All of the bricks had faded to a dull yellow. Dorothy looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh no Billina! Come on, we have to get to the Emerald City." She took off down the once proud road with Billina clucking and flapping to keep up.

Scarecrows breath shortened. "Dammit Dorothy don't go there. It's a trap!"

He heard the door to his cell opening and threw the mirror to the floor, placing his foot over it for good measure. One of the Nome Kings minions walked in with a smirk on his face, "The Nome King wanted me to tell you that Mombi has been given orders to hold Dorothy once she reaches the city. Looks like she's SOL.

"Why don't you go erode somewhere." The minion left, laughing at how angry he had made the prisoner.

Quickly he picked the mirror back up, hoping nothing bad had happened in the 10 minutes he'd turned his gaze away.

Dorothy had just discovered the Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion had turned to stone along with the other occupants of the city. Suddenly the chicken started to cluck all in a panic, and soon they were surrounded by Wheelers. Dorothy's eyes were wide in fear as she watched the Wheelers cut off all escape routes.

One of them, a red head with purple paint on his face, looked Dorothy up and down. Scarecrow felt a new emotion rising from his straw chest. He wanted to kill the Wheeler for looking at her like that.

The Wheeler got really close to her. "What's up little lady. Wanna go for a roll sometime?" Dorothy blushed. Scarecrow clutched the mirror tightly in his hand, lip lifting in a snarl. "Excuse me but I don't think you should be asking me that."

"You're right. I apologize, how about we kiss and make up." He leaned towards her, lips puckered.

Scarecrow wigged out yelling and screaming every curse word he knew at the Wheeler in his mirror. His face turned red as he fought hard with his chains. "You put your slimy lips on her and I'll tear your wheels off."

Dorothy reached out and smacked the Wheeler hard on the face. "Eew! Like I'd ever kiss you!" The other Wheeler whispered silently, in awe of what she had done. The Wheeler Dorothy had slapped looked beyond angry. His head began to shake, "Oooh now you're gonna get it." Dorothy pushed her way past the Wheelers and ran towards the only cover she saw.

The king of oz watched as Dorothy ran into a dead end. "Oh no Billina, what are we going to do." The hen looked to be examining a hole in the stone surface. "Try that key you found this morning Dorothy." She quickly fished the key out just as the Wheelers entered the hall. Their laughs echoed down to her as she desperately tried to get the key in the lock. The Wheelers were 10 ft away. With a final turn, the key opened up the wall, allowing Dorothy and Billina entrance. She grabbed the key before ducking inside.

All she and the Scarecrow could see was darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

After her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, Dorothy could see there was a small window letting minimal light in. The shaft rested on what looked like a bronze statue. It had a round head with a cap perched on its head, a round body with skinny arms and stocky legs. It was covered in a fine layer of dust with a few small cobwebs hanging from his helmet. Curious as always the Kansas girl approached the statue.

She wiped some dust off a plate on the back, hoping to find an explanation to whom or what this mechanical man was. Squinting in the little light Dorothy read aloud, "Tik-Tok, mechanical army of oz. For thinking, wind up number 1 under left arm," glancing to the arm she did indeed see a knob under it, "for speaking wind up number 2 under right arm, and for action wind up number 3 in the middle."

"Well go ahead Dorothy, wind him up." She nodded to the chicken. First she wound up his thought, then she wound up his speaking, and finally his action. His eyes lit up as his mouth moved, "thank you for winding me up. By chance are you Dorothy Gale?"

"Yes I am. How did you get like this?" 

"The king of oz told me to stay here and wait for help to arrive. I paced and paced till my action ran down. Then I talked and talked till my speaking ran down. Then I thought and though till my thinking ran down. Then you found me."

"I need your help to rescue the Scarecrow from the Nome King. And the first thing we have to do is get away from the Wheelers."

"I will take care of them." He replied in his electronic voice.

Scarecrow grinned, "Good ol' Tik-Tok. I knew he'd come through." The windup man had just finished knocking all the Wheelers out using Dorothy's lunch pail. Except for the one who had been flirting with her earlier. They demanded this Wheeler to take them to Mombi, so she could tell them how to get to the Nome Kings castle.

"Not that bitch of a witch. She'll kill Dorothy."

They watched the Wheeler roll quickly away from The Emerald Palace, all the while saying they'd be sorry. Pushing the door open, Dorothy was shocked to see the entire place covered in dust, just like Tik-Tok had been. 'How long has this place been deserted. I hope I'm not to late.'

Climbing the once grand staircase to the throne room, Dorothy's filled with the sound of sweet music. Inside the throne room remained unchanged, except it was occupied by a beautiful woman playing a lap harp of some kind.

Princess Mombi's eyes snapped up as she saw Dorothy approach her. _This _was the girl the Nome King wanted so badly for his queen? Mombi had presented herself as a prospective queen for His highness but the Nome king had instantly shot her down saying she would be of no use to him.

"Excuse me but are you Princess Mombi?" Suddenly the evil lady came upon an idea. The Nome King would be unable to marry Dorothy, if she were dead! "Help we to rise, I need to change into something more comfortable."

"There's a diva if I ever saw one." "Be quiet Miss. Hen."

Scarecrow watched as Mombi led Dorothy to where his bedroom used to be. Inside the closet now, both he and Dorothy gasped at the dozens oh heads in glass cases. They watched her walk by and take a ruby key out of her pocket. "I think number 4 will do." Unlocking the case she pulled out a pretty brunette head, switching it with the one she wore. "What do you think?"

"It's a very nice head. But…" Mombi grabbed her arm, "Apparently not good enough. I won't let you go to the Nome King. Your going to stay in my tower till I decide how to properly kill you."

"Excuse me, I think your head is on too tight. Tik-Tok, HELP!"

"I'm coming Dorothy!" He pulled his hand back to strike Mombi as Billina attacked her face. But before he could land a blow, his action ran down. "Uhoh, it seems my fight with the Wheelers has caused my action to run down."

Simultaneously, Scarecrow and Dorothy responded, "You couldn't have picked a worst time."

"When I get out of here, I'm gonna get you bitch, and your little Nome King too."

Dorothy was tossed into the tower, and the door locked behind her. "Let me out of here horrible woman." She banged and pulled on it to no avail. Billina squawked loudly beside her. Giving up she stomped her foot and folded her arms, leaning back against the wall. "I wish Scarecrow was here with me, he'd know what to do. And he'd hold me till I felt better." "Sounds like you really love him." Her eyes flicked across the room to a portrait of her three friends. Going to it she ran her hand over the Scarecrows face, "Maybe I do."

"Hello? Is there someone there?"

Dorothy jumped a foot in the air. After her heart stopped racing she went to investigate where it had come from. Looking around a bureau, she saw the strangest creature she had ever seen, up until that point at least. It was a pumpkin, carved with a smile and round eyes, perched atop a stick frame. His thin body was outfitted with multi colored ratty clothing.

"Who are you?"

"Looks like some kind of squash."

"I'm a pumpkin if you please, Jack Pumpkinhead. That witch Mombi killed my mom and put me in here. She was never very fond of me since I was made to scare her. Is there anyway you could put me together?"

Upon closer inspection, Dorothy saw that one of Jack's legs and arms were lying on the ground next to him.

"Of course, hold still." She re-attached his limbs and helped him stand shakily to his feet."

"Now maybe you can help us get out of here."

They quickly devised a plan to build a contraption out of parts in the tower that would carry them across the deadly dessert. And then bring it to life using The Powder of Life that had brought Jack to life.

2 sofas, 6 palm fronds, a broom, some rope, and the mounted head of a Gump later they were ready to put their plan into action.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack Pumpkin head and Dorothy walked downstairs to tell Tik-Tok of the plan. Right before they got to him, Jack stopped her. "Dorothy, may I call you mom?" Grinning hugely she nodded. Continuing on to Tik-Tok she wound him up and watched as he and Jack returned upstairs.

Dorothy looked into the room Mombi was sleeping in. At the moment she wasn't wearing a head, creeping Dorothy out greatly. Quietly she entered the room, tiptoeing so she wouldn't make a sound. The key lay around Mombi's wrist, bright against her pink nightgown.

Carefully she reached for it, hoping that nothing would disturb the headless fiend.

He swore he was gonna have a heart attack, watching Dorothy remove the key from Mombi's wrist. But luckily both got their prayers answered as Dorothy left the room without so much as a twitch from Mombi. He watched her open cabinet 31 and shrieked along side her at the grotesqueness of Mombi's real head. The Powder of Life sat directly behind it. Reaching in, she grabbed the canister and drew it out, her hand brushing against a vile.

The heads eyes snapped open, mouth growing into a smirk. In an ugly voice it called, "Dorothy Gale!" All the other heads awoke and started screaming, causing Mombi's body to wake up. Dorothy shut the cabinet, locked it, and bolted back up the stairs.

Reaching the door she saw Jack on the ground, Tik-Tok wandering around aimlessly, and Billina squawking angrily at him.

"Oh good mom your back. Tik-Tok is going crazy."

"Tickle pickle wiggldy shiggldy lasagna." Dorothy checked his winders and saw his thinking had run down.

"But if his thinking's run down, how can he still be talking."

"It happens to people all the time Jack."

With Tik-Tok properly wound now, they returned their attention to the Gump, and not a moment to soon as Mombi's angry feet could be heard running up the stairs.

She sprinkled the powder all over their contraption. The thing remained still, and definitely not alive. "Maybe there has to be some magic words. Read the label Dorothy."

"Weaugh, Theaugh, Peaugh."

"Peaugh?" Asked the Gump as his head began to move.

"Quickly get on. Start flapping your wings."

"Wings? I don't have any wings."

"You do now." "Oh I guess I do."

They started to head out of the room towards the balcony when Mombi burst through the door. "Dorothy Gale!"

The Kansas girl screamed as the Gump went over the edge. For two terrifying seconds they plummeted toward the earth. At the last moment he spread his palm fronds and took flight.

Scarecrow released the breath he had been holding and yawned. All this worrying was wearing him out. In the mirror he saw Dorothy was falling asleep as well. Both of them heard Jack whisper "Goodnight Mom." before they drifted into sleep.

_She was in a field of flowers in all shades of blue and purple. Bending to pick one she saw she wore a white sundress and her hair was down. "Dorothy? You look beautiful." Recognizing the voice she looked up into Scarecrows blue eyes. Her jaw dropped at the rest of him. He no longer looked like the Scarecrow she knew, he now was human. His straw hair was replaced with golden blonde hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. His skin was slightly tan making his cornflower blue eyes pop. His normal attire had been replaced by a white shirt and brown pants. "This is how I want to look for you Dorothy, so I'll deserve ya and be worthy of ya." She went to him and he slipped a light purple flower behind her ear. "Scarecrow, I'll love you no matter what._ _Besides, it was the old you I fell in love with." He ran his fingers through her brown curls before slowly letting it rest on her cheek. Softly he stroked his thumb along her jaw line. "Do you mean that?" His whispery voice sent shivers up her spine. "With all my heart." Slowly he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Her lips were warm and soft, exactly they way he pictured them. She slipped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. Dropping his hand to the small of her back he kissed her again, more forcefully this time. The kisses continued to progress in this manner until Dorothy was slowly lowered to the ground. _"mom."_ Scarecrow slipped off his shirt and came back, kissing her with hunger as her hands explored his chest. _"mom."_ His lips moved to her neck causing her to gasp. _"mom!"_ "Ready Dorothy?" _"MOM! The ropes are breaking_."_

She sat bolt upright at the sound of Jack's yelling. He was hanging over one side while Tik-Tok held on tight to the other. "Oh no! what are we gonna do?" "AHHH! Mom I'm falling." Horrified she looked over to see Jack's body still on the Gump. Upon closer inspection she saw his head falling away from them. "Oh no Jack! Quick Gump dive after him."

"I'll try but I wasn't built to turn." Pulling in his fronds he plummeted after the carved pumpkin. Dorothy reached out and grabbed the head, pulling it safely back into the Gump. Jack reached for it to re-attach it and letting of the ropes in the process. The Gump fell apart and the party plummeted. "I'm sorry mom." "It won't matter soon Jack."

His heart froze as he watched his beloved fall. When she had been ripped out of their dream meeting, he too had woken up concerned something was happening to her. His instincts had been right. Now all he could do was watch as Dorothy fell to her death.


	7. Chapter 7

The door to his cell creaked open, causing him to drop the mirror. "his majesty wanted to see you in his throne room."

The Scarecrow frowned; mind still dealing with the fact that Dorothy was dead. "Like I have a choice in the matter."

Unhooking his arms from the wall, they forced him to walk by surrounding him with torches. He didn't even notice. His eyes were cast down as he was lead to the Nome King.

Upon his arrival the nomes sealed off the room, preventing Scarecrows escape. 'I can't believe she's dead. My Dorothy is gone.' Falling to the floor he rested his head on his knees. Due to his state of depression, Scarecrow failed to notice the Nome King had not appeared.

When the Gump had fallen apart Dorothy, Jack, Billina, and Tik-Tok had indeed fallen to the mountain below; but instead of being smashed to smithereens, Dorothy landed on one of the couches, Billina had gone into Jack's head, which then landed on his neck, and Tik-Tok fell on his head. Being made of metal all he suffered was a dented helmet. "Pick me up. Pick me up. Pick me up!"

"Alright Tik-Tok I'm coming." She lifted him up, "Thank you Dorothy."

"Why are you all upside down?"

Going to him, Dorothy pulled his head off and stuck it back n the right way. "Let's tie the Gump onto the sofa so he can walk.

"I hope we don't meet any other Gump's up here. I'd die a second time, from embarrassment."

"I think it is highly unlikely we will see other Gump's. But on that thought, where is here?"

A voice boom out of the air, "You are on my mountain." Looking around they saw a giant face had formed on the rock above, "Are you the Nome King?"

"Yes I am. And you are Dorothy Gale from Kansas. What brings you to my Mountain." 'As if I don't already know.'

Dorothy got a determined look on her face, "We've come with our army to rescue the Scarecrow."

Tik-Tok saluted as the Nome King laughed. The mountain shook making snow fall. "What's happening Mom?"

"It feels like an earthquAAHHHHHH." A crack split in the earth sending Dorothy into darkness.

She fell through layers and layers of precious stones. "Are these all yours?" "Yes! I would have more but you Ozians steal them from the ground. So I took back those I could and held captive the person responsible."

"You mean Scarecrow!" There was no answer. Her butt connected with rock as she slid even farther into the darkness.

Scarecrow was just sitting there mourning his loss when out of nowhere something heavy collided with him.

Out of instinct he grabbed onto it as he rolled over a couple times from the impact. Finally righting himself he waited for the room to stop spinning. When it did, he saw his arms were wrapped tightly around…

"Dorothy!"

"Scarecrow!" He pulled her closer pressing his face momentarily into her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, inhaling his wonderful straw smell that she'd been denied for so long.

"I thought you were dead. I saw you fall out of the sky."

"Mmhm. Wait! How did you see me fall? Were you on the mountain?"

"No, Ozma gave me this mirror that's been letting me watch you." He thought back briefly to the dream world. He couldn't loose her without letting her know how he felt.

"Dorothy listen to me, I have to tell you something before anything else happens, I lo…"

She closed her eyes at the sudden flash of light. When they opened, Scarecrow was gone.

"No! Bring him back." She got to her feet looking for a way out. "He didn't steal your stupid emeralds. They were there when he came. Give him back to me." She collapsed on a stone crying."

"There there my dear Dorothy, I had no idea he meant so much to you." He patted her shoulder.

"Of course you did," she spat, "that's why you captured him. You never gave a damn about the emeralds."

"Relax my dear, if it means that much to you I will give you a chance to rescue your friend. But of course you must do something for me in return."

"If it means rescuing Scarecrow, then I'll do it. Whatever the cost may be."

The Nome King laughed triumphantly. "Ah, I hear you're friends arriving. I'll let you reunite before I tell you what must be done. I'm sure with all of you there's no way you won't succeed."


	8. Chapter 8

They were seated on the Gump as they listened to the Nome Kings proposition. "One by one you shall each go into my ornament collection. You have three tries to find the Scarecrow. To see if you are correct, simply lay your hand on the ornaments and say Oz. if you were right, then Scarecrow shall appear."

"Some of us don't have horns you know. Imagine that, a Gump with horns. That's almost as ridiculous as…me."

Dorothy normally would have laughed but the situation was too dire, "You can use your antlers."

"Are you all ready?" They nodded, Jack gulped. "Wonderful, why don't we have the sofa go first." With a motion of his hand, the nomes started to make a hole in the wall for the Gump to pass through. He slowly made his way over to the hole, mumbling about something. Once he was through the opening closed, preventing further passage.

Dorothy sat on the ground starring at the wall; she had never felt this anxious in her life. That was the second time he'd been snatched away from her, and this time he had something important to say. She imagined never seeing him again, never looking into those eyes, never hugging his soft body, no more quiet evenings of just talking. Dorothy realized then, without Scarecrow her life would be very empty. 'I've just got to get him back!'

It was then a large boom echoed through the depths of the mountain. "Your friend has made his first guess, he was incorrect." She wanted to smack that smug look off his face.

"Dorothy can you wind me up?" Nodding she obliged, just as the second boom sounded. "Make sure my thinking is extra tight so I can figure out which ornament is the Scarecrow."

Just as Dorothy finished winding the thinking gear, a third boom was heard followed by a blinding light.

The Nome King laughed, his deep voice echoing off the walls. "Who's next?"

Dorothy blinked the spots from her eyes, "Wait a minute, what happened to the Gump?"

"Oh did I forget to mention what will happen if all three guesses are wrong? How rude of me. If your friends are unable to guess which one of my ornaments is the Scarecrow, they will be added to my collection."

"And what about Dorothy." Demanded the wind up man, angrily.

The king leaned forward on his throne, "Dorothy will be mine!"

All the color drained from the Kansas girls face. If she or her friends didn't succeed she would be stuck with this nutcase till the day she died.

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"You said you were willing to risk anything to save your precious Scarecrow."

"And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I will never belong to you, you ugly fossilized dino turd."

His eyes narrowed dangerously, "Pumpkinhead, it's your turn."

"What! Me!" His carved eyes widened upon hearing this news.

"It'll be fine Jack, just use your head and choose carefully." Leaning in close she whispered, "You too Billina."

They disappeared through the newly made hole. 10 minutes and 3 booms later, the wall opened again, Jack had failed. "The army of Oz."

Dorothy hugged Tik-Tok, knowing he was her last hope. If he failed it would be all up to her.

"Do not worry Dorothy, I will use my excellent thinking works to find our friends."

She watched him waddle through the hole before it closed. Now she was left alone, with him. For awhile he said nothing, but she felt his eyes on her, making her shiver. She longed to be wrapped in Scarecrows warm embrace again. Closing her eyes her mind wandered back to the first time they met. If she'd known then what she knew, then she never would have gone home and her love wouldn't be trapped in the hands of this psycho.

One of the gnomes started to whisper something to the king, "Oh?" He turned to Dorothy, "Your army has stopped guessing and is standing in the middle of the room."

"Damn it, his action must have run down. I wound up his thought but completely forgot about his action."

"You may go in and wind him up. In fact, why don't you just stay in the room and you can guess once he is done."

Upon entering the room, Dorothy realized why this had been so hard for her friends. The Nome King had hundreds and hundreds of different knick knacks. Making her way to Tik-Tok she gripped his thinking winder and frowned, "Tik-Tok you're all wound up."

"I know, but pretend you are winding me up anyway. I have a plan. When I make my final guess, and if I am incorrect, you can see what I am turned into. This may give us some clue as to what the others are."

"What a good idea." She watched him waddle to a nearby end table. He laid his hand on one of the objects, "Oz."

Dorothy shielded her eyes against the blinding flash. When the spots cleared, she had no idea which knick knack was Tik-Tok. 'So much for that plan.' She started to wander around and look for her first guess.

A silver vase that looked similar to Tik-Tok's body shape proved to be it. Laying her hands on the cool metal she shouted, "Oz." A boom reverberated around the room. Her first guess was wrong.

As Dorothy contemplated what her next choice would be Mombi arrived to talk with the Nome King. She was going to tell him Dorothy had escaped and try to convince him one final time that she would be a better queen then Dorothy.

Entering the throne room she curtsied to the king.

"Kneel." Doing as he commanded, Mombi spread her skirts around her. "lower." She went all the way to the floor. "lower!" She looked up confused only to see the Nome King laughing. "Now what brings you before me Mombi?"

"It's that girl Dorothy. I do not think she will do good to your Majesty as a queen. She has no powers, no knowledge of tactics, and she's little more then a child. You.."

He held up a hand to silence her, "I do not need any of those things since I now have the ruby slippers. Dorothy will suite me very well as a queen because it will torture that ridiculous Scarecrow. Also, she is not terribly unfortunate in looks, and I will enjoy watching her in my underground kingdom.

Mombi opened her mouth to argue when the noise from Dorothy's second guess sounded.

She was getting frustrated. Only one guess left, how could she do it? She decided to listen to her heart. Closing her eyes she twirled around a couple times. Stopping she stumbled blindly forward, hands reaching in front of her. Colliding with a table, Dorothy groped over the top for an object. Her hands closed around a small figurine of a goat. About to say the words to see if it was one of her friends she felt something calling out to her. Opening her eyes she saw a bright green diamond shaped stone on the table. As she looked at it, she felt her heart almost sing. 'Could it be?' Slowly she placed her hands on it, 'Here goes nothing' "OZ!"

This time there was no boom, only a flash followed by "DOROTHY!" Looking up she saw the Scarecrow lounging on the table. "Scarecrow!" She moved to hug him but was stopped,

"Hang on there's something I need to tell you.."

"No. No more waiting." Grabbing his shirt she steered his lips to hers. Scarecrow kissed her back, cradling her neck. "Now what did you want to tell…"

"Oh no, you finish what you started." She laughed as he pulled her back for a round of warm kisses. Dorothy felt like she was floating and Scarecrow burned with an inner desire. Finally they separated and Scarecrow hopped off the table, "Dorothy I love you so very much."

"I love you too. But we have plenty of time to talk about this later. Now I need you to help me find green ornaments."

He kissed her quickly once more before they separated to search the collection.


	9. Chapter 9

When Scarecrow had been found, The Nome King felt some of his power slip away. "No! This is impossible! How did she find him?" His eyes focused on Mombi, "This is all your fault!!"

"Green. Green green green." He saw a green ornament on the end table closest to him. "Dorothy over here." She trotted over to him and took the ornament in his hands, "Oz." The Gump appeared causing the Scarecrow to stumble back in shock. "What is that?"

More of his power slipped away. Mombi tried to back away from the fuming Nome King. "It wasn't my fault, it was that girl. She's a crafty, cunning, little wench. Maybe if you hadn't been so occupied with trying to make her your queen…" The Nome king waved his fingers and a cage sprung up to encircle Mombi. She cried out in anguish as the King disappeared.

"We need to find Billina, Tik-Tok, and Jack. Remember, look for green ornaments." They looked around the room when suddenly it began to shake. Ornaments everywhere fell from their spots, shattering. "Wha…wha…oh no." Scarecrow fell against the wall. Dorothy ran to the Gump as rocks fell around her. Scarecrow was having even more trouble then usual waking due to the quakes. "I think it's time to go."

"We can't Gump; we have to find the others." Turning back to Scarecrow she saw him catch a vase and then drop it trying to avoid a rock, "Scarecrow!"

"Dorothy!" Two more vases fell on him. "Not very coordinated is he."

Scarecrow reached them and gripped Dorothy just as a huge red crack split the room, shaking loose huge chunks of carved rock. A green vase wobbled tediously on its pedestal. Running and diving the Scarecrow caught the vase on his soft middle.

The others were transfixed on the large Nome King materializing before them. "Stop!"

"Dorothy quick, it's green." She knelt next to him as he cradled the treasure as if it were an infant. "Oz!" Jack appeared knocking Scarecrow back. "Mom! You're alright. What's happening?"

Scarecrow's brow crinkled, "Mom?" "I'll explain later, now we have to find Tik-Tok."

"STOP!!" They turned to look at the much larger Nome King. Fire bloomed around him as he gazed at the troupe with burning eyes.

"We aren't done guessing yet!"

"And you will not finish. Dorothy, choose now. I grow tired of these games, and tired of your friends. If you agree to be my queen, I will let them go. If you do not agree, then your friends will die, and you will still be my queen."

Scowling and feeling jealousy burn in his chest, Scarecrow grips Dorothy's shoulders possessively. The Nome King saw this and laughed.

"Mom, why is he laughing?"

"Because he's a psycho Jack."

As he continued to laugh, he shrunk down to his original size and stood before the Ozians. Some of his Nomes came forward and wrenched Dorothy away from her friends. They then blocked Scarecrow from going after her.

"So what will it be my dear." He traced a cold hard finger down her cheek. Scarecrow felt his rage building. "You would make such a good ornament to my collection." A slight breeze started to whip around Dorothy. Leaning forward he kissed Dorothy.

That did it. Everyone present gaped as the Scarecrow was engulfed in flame. The Nomes around him shrunk back in fear, hissing in their underground language. Dorothy panicked thinking he was going do die, being made of straw and all. Then she saw he was the one controlling the fire, bending it to his will. "Get your hands off my Dorothy!"

Billina, who was still hiding in Jacks head, laid an egg out of fear and it rolled out his mouth, splattering to the ground. The Nome it landed on cried out in a shrill voice before disintegrating.

Scare crow saw this and had an idea, "Quick Billina lay another egg."

"I don't think I can. Do you know how hard it is to lay eggs?"

Scarecrow flared his fiery dome and even concentrated fire to his hands. Sqwauking and flapping Billina not only laid one egg, but two. Scarecrow caught them as they fell from Jacks head, who was busy trying to get the chicken out.

Pulling back his arm he released the egg and watched it soar. It flew like a comet in the sky, hitting the Nome King right where his heart should be. Of course he laughed, giving the next a perfect opportunity to land in his mouth.

Releasing Dorothy he grasped his throat, sputtering. "Don't…you…know…that…eggs…are…poison." With those last words the Nome King fell to pieces as his subjects grieved.

Dorothy ran to the Scarecrow, actually it was more like flying, as a powerful wind had come to surround her. Without fear of getting burned she embraced Scarecrow. "I think I figured out how Ozma wants us to defend Oz."

He gave a small smile kissing her forehead. "Dorothy, the ruby slippers. Use them to get us out of here." She slipped the shoes on her feet, feeling their familiar power fill her.

Grabbing the Scarecrow and Jacks hands, who in turn held onto Billina and the Gump, she recited, "I wish all of us from Oz to be returned their safely. And I wish for the Emerald City and its inhabitants to be returned to the way they were before the Nome King came."

She clicked her heels together three times. Next thing she knew, all of them had been deposited on the grass just outside of the city. She had landed on Scarecrow yet again and felt his arms wrap around her. Mombi soon appeared and they watched as a green light restored the Emerald city to its former glory.

It was then Dorothy realized someone from their group was missing. "Where's Tik-Tok?"

A look of regret crossed her lovers face as he hugged her, "We never found him." Jack could be heard saying, "Oh no."

"Where'd you get that? That medal on your antlers?" The other looked at the Gump. "Huh, I must have picked it up in the ornament room." The others came over to investigate.

The medal was green.

Without hesitation Dorothy placed her hands on the decoration, "Oz!" A familiar flash revealed that the medal had indeed been their metal friend.

Dorothy moved to hug him a huge smile on her face. "My thinking must have completely run down. I do not remember leaving the Nome Kings Castle."

Scarecrow laughed, "Good Ol' Tik-Tok."

"Everything's all right now."

Releasing Tik-Tok she returned to Scarecrow, "I can't believe we did it. I thought I'd never see you again." He moved his gloved hand to caress her face, "I love you Dorothy." "I love you too." Leaning in he captured her lips, just as the Tin Man and Lion arrived. Both jaws dropped, "I knew it!" Blushing the two separated as Dorothy went to greet her friends.

Upon their return to the City, Dorothy greeted Emerald citizens with great enthusiasm. Soon a procession formed leading to the throne room as thanks were called to Dorothy for yet again saving Oz. She rode on Lions back while Scarecrow walked next to her, Jack just behind her, and Billina on a pillow. Tik-Tok lead and the Gump brought up the rear. Mombi was there as well, still n her cage and being booed by the citizens.

Once reaching the throne room Scarecrow took Dorothy off Lion and offered his arm. She placed her hand on it as they walked up the dais, turning to face the assembled crowd. The Gump started the cheer, "Be the Queen of Oz Dorothy!"

She turned to her Scarecrow and saw him smiling down at her. He saw hesitation in her eyes. Raising a hand he called for silence. "Hang on; we've been going about this all wrong." Slowly, while gripping her hand, he lowered himself onto one knee. The women in the crowd gasped knowingly. "Dorothy, will you be the Queen of Oz, as well as my bride?"

Shock spread across Dorothy's face as her new found powers of wind kicked in. She pulled Scarecrow to his feet and into a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He felt his body heat up as small sparks flew from him. "Yes Scarecrow, I will marry you and become Queen of Oz."

To the cheers of the emerald citizens, Dorothy and Scarecrow kissed once more.

Jack looked questioningly at Tik-Tok, "So, does this mean I have a new dad?"


End file.
